How Can Landlords Accommodate Cost-Burdened Student Loan Borrowers
In your worst moments, it is easy to feel like D.C. is turning into a ghost town. The nation’s capital was never famous for its nightlife, except perhaps in certain parts of Adams Morgan where no one above the age of 40 dared to tread. The best restaurants closed at dinner time, and some of them were not open on the weekends. Now the storefronts that used to house your favorite places to get kabobs, bibimbap, and empanadas stand empty, or else their new occupants are locations of national chains. It is depressing to think about all the empty office spaces. Where are the people who used to work in those offices, and could they still afford to treat their coworkers to kabobs, bibimbap, and empanadas, if those restaurants and those friends were still around? These thoughts are frightening, but especially for residential landlords, for whom vacant commercial spaces mean vacant residential rental units, and for recent university graduates, for whom the ghost town represents a lack of opportunities. These are lean times for everyone, but there are ways that residential landlords can accommodate recent graduates with unimpressive credit scores without the landlords taking too big of a financial risk. For help surviving in the residential real estate business in tough economic times, contact a Washington, D.C. real estate lawyer.
Post a Statement on Your Website About Options for Applicants Whose Credit Scores Are Low Because of Student Loan Troubles
One of the biggest stressors for student loan borrowers is the fear that falling behind on their loan payments will exclude them from getting approved for housing. As a landlord, you should make the first move by posting content on your website, whether a brief statement or an entire FAQ page, about your efforts to rent to distressed student loan borrowers. Encourage them to talk to you about their financial situation, as human beings, before you formally submit a rental application and pull your credit score.
You might decide that you are willing to rent to the applicant if, despite falling behind on their student loan payments, they have always paid their rent on time. This shows you that the tenant always prioritized paying rent and has always been able to do so. This conversation can also give applicants a chance to tell you that they have recently resumed making payments on their student loans after a period of inability to pay.
Make Room on the Rental Application for Co-Signers
No amount of goodwill can immediately reverse the credit score damage from student loan delinquency. Despite this, many applicants do not know that you can have someone with better credit co-sign with you on an apartment rental application, just like you can for a loan application. If you make your applications look co-signer friendly, you can attract former students who don’t need their parents to help them pay rent but do need their parents to help them qualify for an apartment lease.
Contact Tobin O’Connor Concino P.C. About Making Your Rental Units Affordable
A Washington, D.C. real estate attorney can help you fill your vacant rental units even in dismal economic times. Contact Tobin O’Connor Concino P.C. in Washington, D.C. or call 202-362-5900.
Source:
cnbc.com/2025/12/29/student-debt-rent.html
